Education
He studied at the Belfast College of Artist They were exhibited in 2012 at the Photographic Archive and 17,000 people attended.
He studied at the Belfast College of Artist They were exhibited in 2012 at the Photographic Archive and 17,000 people attended.
Hillen was raised in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. In 1982, he travelled to London to continue his studies at the London College of Printing, and then at the Slade School of Fine Artist Hillen traveled back and forth between Ireland and England over the course of several years.
He photographed scenes related to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
He later incorporated these photographs into photomontage work. Eventually, he began to take photographs with the photomontage as his priority.
In 2011 the National Library of Ireland Photographic Archive acquired those c.700 photographs from Hillen which will be held as a permanently as The Seán Hillen Collection, in posterity. The photos were acquired as 35mm negatives and high-resolution scans.
Taking photos of the Security Forces was, and is, technically illegal.
Hillen often pretended to be part of the press or “just an innocent art student”. In 1993, Hillen returned to Ireland. Between 1994 and 1997, he created a new body of work entitled The series is a collection of scalpel-and-glue collages.
They are a bizarre hybrid of the everyday postcard visuals, mixed with a fantastical other world.
Most of these highly decorative collages, showing landmarks from around Ireland, are no bigger than a postcard. These works are partly influenced by the famous picture postcards of John Hinde.
Hillen adapts these nostalgic images, juxtaposing the familiar touristic shots to create an altogether different and complex image. The series celebrates the imagery of Ireland.
Hillen illustrates places such as Newgrange, The Cliffs of Moher, Trinity College and O"Connell Street.
In addition to John Hinde, Hillen has been influenced by many other artists, including the great photomontage artist John Heartfield. This influence can be seen especially in Hillen"s more political montages of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.